


Alliance

by orro



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Gen, Wasteland AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-03-10 01:13:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3271244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orro/pseuds/orro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There’s no trust in wasteland. Killua is pretty sure that Gon doesn’t care.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alliance

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Wasteland](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/95678) by inkbits. 



> i don’t know how sleep works in this au. are they in the game in body. if they die in the game do they die irl. do they log out and vanish from the world. are there save and check points. i don’t know but i wrote this anyway because wow this au is great good job carmen :D
> 
> wasteland au by http://inkbits.tumblr.com
> 
> cross posted from tumblr at http://tumblyorro.tumblr.com/post/109182602687/fic-hxh-alliance

Killua watches as Gon tests the ground then beckons them onward. He has no clue what Gon is doing, and even though he’s curious, he doesn’t ask. 

Part of it is pride. He still winces at the memory of getting caught in one of Gon’s traps, helpless and struggling because he wouldn’t, couldn’t let himself die here. And then instead of death, he received a friendly hand and an offer of alliance. 

And part of it, as always, is the voice in the back of his head endlessly repeating that he’s walking into another trap. Killua’s already fallen for one. He won’t fall for another. 

“Sorry, I don’t usually have anyone to talk to while I’m here,” Gon says suddenly. He looks a little abashed and Killua blinks. That’s not a look he sees often and the way it contorts Gon’s face is almost foreign. 

Everyone wears masks now, inside and out of the game. There’s too much shit floating around in the air and Killua has seen those deaths from people who can’t afford masks. It’s not pretty. 

The clearest faces in his memory are those of his family. But they all know how to hide their faces even in plain sight. Killua’s been with Gon less than half a day and he can already tell that Gon is expressive and open. 

Gon’s mask has probably protected him but he took it off before he offered his alliance. 

Killua doesn’t respond right away and it’s not until Gon frowns that he realizes it. But he doesn’t have anything to say to that. 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah! Most people don’t come around here. There’s an event every year but it’s closer to the ports. The forests are usually empty of players.” 

He’s giving away too much information. This has to be another trap. He’s luring Killua into a false sense of security, sweetening the sell with some freely given intel, and Killua won’t fall for it. It’s an amateur trick and another drop of disgust at the world and himself wells inside Killua’s chest. 

What a world where even past the apocalypse you can’t trust other people. Nothing to lose because this world has nothing; nothing to gain because there’s nothing left. And still people keep on being shits to each other. 

“Sounds lonely,” Killua says. He glances around but true to Gon’s word, there doesn’t seem to be any sign of people. 

“There was a girl before.” Gon doesn’t speak for a minute and Killua thinks he’s fallen silent. “I think she died. I don’t see her anymore.” 

“Maybe she decided she was bored of the game?” Killua says with an ugly laugh. 

Gon is facing forward so Killua can’t see his face. But it doesn’t matter because it’s the truth. There are wastelands and there is Wasteland. The world is dead, dead, dead, and the only hope for humanity is playing away the ticking hours. 

Gon doesn’t say anything more and Killua is glad. He’s not at all sure what to say and the words die out in his head long before they can even get to his throat. But they’re cluttering up his mind. 

He has so many questions. But there's no point. Gon will betray him, and he'll lie about everything and anything. That's the way these groups and team ups always go. 

"There was a guy who came through once a while back. So you're like the third person. Third time's the charm, that's what my aunt used to say," Gon says. 

Killua stays silent. 

"Ah, there are a lot of pretty tough creatures in this area. I know how to avoid them and stuff, so we'll be okay." 

"That's good," Killua says. He doesn't want to fight anything that doesn't give him points. Monsters are only worth so much. People are the best targets. 

Gon stops and peers at him, trying to see his face through his mask. Killua blinks at him. It's about the only expression that can get through. 

"What?" Killua demands. 

"Er, are you okay? Do you need to rest or anything?" 

"I'm fine," Killua says. He has plenty of in game elixirs to stay up and keep his health strong. And he can spend two or three days without sleep, courtesy of his family's training. 

"Okay. Well. Uh. I kind of need to log out for a while. Not yet! But soon." 

"Then go to a check out point." 

"Uh. Yeah. About that." Gon fidgets a little. "I...want to say logged in. I'll be quick, it's only going to be around an hour! But I've stayed logged in and I'm trying for the 10k hour achievement."

Killua stares at him. 

"Is that why you want to team up?" 

"Nope. That's just a bonus," Gon says with a grin. He gestures to the forest. "It's pretty safe here from other people but I'll find us a good place to hide away for a bit. I'll be real quick, I promise! I just promised my aunt I'd do something." 

Killua nods and wonders again at this kid. The only way to log out legally is through the checkpoints but there's plenty of hacks and mods that can get you out for a while. He's tested plenty though Milluki insists that messing with the logouts is just asking for trouble. Not that it stopped him from handing Killua the list when he asked for them. 

Killua shrugs and Gon takes that as the yes that it is. He watches as Gon fiddles with his bag, taking out a strange arrangement of weapons and so many berries and herbs that Killua thinks Gon must have part of the forest in his bag. 

He takes out a ring and puts it on then begins walking around in some kind of pattern. Two steps forward, one step to the side, a third to the back, one forward again, and Killua watches the strange movement with a little smile that’s hidden under his mask. He’s never seen, tried, or heard of this particular hack.

Without warning Gon topples over, as if caught by a sniper, and Killua looks around. There’s no one about, not that he can see or sense. He carefully goes over and flips Gon’s body. 

Gon's eyes are wide open and his body isn't moving. It's far too reminiscent of a corpse and Killua looks away. He's seen plenty of dead bodies, inside and out of the game, but this is just weird. 

Killua isn’t sure he wants to learn this particular hack now. Not if it leave his body defenceless like this. He leans Gon’s body up against the nearest tree and brushes at the ground so he can sit across from it. 

Killua sets a timer and then waits. He’s not used to this much quiet and it’s giving him a chance to think. But he doesn’t want to think. He’s one away from a hundred kills and Gon should have been Number One Hundred but he wasn’t, isn’t, can’t be now that they’ve teamed up. 

Killua doesn’t know how many kills Gon has to his name. He gets a feeling that Gon isn’t playing this game like everyone else though. He’s vaguely aware that there are options in Wasteland; Milluki has some kills but that’s not his primary goal. Killua’s never bother to ask him what he wants though. All of the Zoldycks take their own paths and rarely do they intersect. 

Killua is sure they aren’t a normal family but he’s aware that nothing can be normal. 

Though Gon had mentioned something about an aunt. He could be lying, though Killua is good at spotting liars, and Gon had seemed to be telling the truth. Maybe Gon had a family of his own. 

Killua absently goes through the newsfeed to see what’s been happening. There’s nothing of interest going on to distract him though it’s not like Killua could get up to investigate. He eyes Gon’s empty body again. 

Gon proposed an alliance but Killua still doesn’t know what that entails. Or why Gon even wants to ally with someone. Any group Killua has joined always end up in someone massacring the rest for the points. Killua’s done it a few times himself, though he’s always been with Illumi or his dad when that’s happened. 

Gon is definitely strong though. Killua’s sure that if they’d been on a more uniform stage he could have beaten Gon but Wasteland isn’t about fairness. He can’t stay mad at Gon for using his surroundings to lay traps. That’s only smart, and you can only stay alive if you use your head. 

Killua opens his bag and starts organizing his items. He keeps a listen out for anything interesting; he’s been trained to know where and what to keep an ear out for but there’s also a luck aspect. Killua doesn’t consider himself lucky but he’s still alive, so clearly he’s not entirely hopeless. 

He does take an image shot of Gon’s ring and sends it to Milluki though. It’s probably nothing important and Killua doesn’t like how Gon’s body is left, but it’s something new. His father and Illumi would want to know about it. 

Killua checks his messages again to make sure there aren’t any from his older brother. Illumi sends him multiple messages each day but as long as there aren’t any questions, Killua can delete them without repercussions from his father. 

Illumi doesn’t seem to be in Wasteland right now though there are methods to hide yourself. Killua knows a few; Illumi knows more. Illumi always knows more. 

His timer goes off and Killua looks up at Gon. He hasn’t moved yet and there’s no signs of life from him, though he still registers as an active player. Killua shifts around as he waits for Gon to return. He’s not sure what to do if Gon never comes back. Gon could have errored out or broken something for good. 

After another twenty minutes Gon blinks. Killua nearly jumps but he keeps still only by virtue of his training. He watches as Gon slowly comes back to himself. 

“Sorry about that!” Gon says, bouncing up and stretching out. He’s alive and awake, so springy that Killua is downright surprised he doesn’t burst. “It took me a little longer than I thought. But you know how it’s with aunts, right?” 

Killua nods even though he doesn’t. 

“Seems kind of risky though,” Killua says. 

“Huh?” 

“Leaving yourself like that. Anything, or anyone, could have gotten to you. You could have been easy pickings,” Killua says.

"You could have killed me then," Gon points out with a wide grin. "But you didn't! I knew you would be a good partner!" 

Killua stares. 

"What? We don't know anything about one another. I could still be planning to stab you in the back. This could all be part of my plot to get you to trust me!" 

"It's not though, right?" Gon says, frowning at him. "I can just tell.”

Killua stands up. 

“So that was a test?” 

Gon’s frown deepens. 

“‘Course not. I don’t need to test you, Killua. I just don’t think you’ll betray me.” 

Something in Killua’s chest twists and he doesn’t know what to think. This is too much trust for strangers. But Killua could have killed him. And he hadn’t thought about it once. 

Illumi’s voice hadn’t whispered to him to take the easy kill even though Gon had been right there. 

“I guess I won’t,” Killua says slowly as he realizes this himself, and Gon grins at him. 

“Yeah. I know you won’t. And I won’t betray you. We’re teammates now.” Gon holds his hand out, and Killua fistbumps him. 

“So why do you want a teammate, Gon?” 

“It’s a long story so I thought it’d be easier to show you. Is that okay?” 

“Where are we going?” Killua asks without hesitation.

“There’s a place in the south called Dolle Harbor.” 

South, eh. Killua has never been there. He slides his mask off and feels over his face. It’s been a while since he’s been without it and if he were outside of the game, he’d have indentations on his face for sure. Instead he just opens and closes his jaw a few times, breathing in the scents of the game. 

The forest is earthy and clean. He can even smell the salt of the sea. It’s all fake, bits and pieces kept from the before time, when stuff like this had been abundant. Wasteland endeavours to make their game real though, including the smells, but the outside air is so foul it’s natural for Killua to wear his mask constantly. 

Gon watches him. But it’s not malicious. He seems to be more curious than anything else. 

“I’ve never been to the South,” Killua says with a smile. 

Gon keeps staring at him for a moment. Then he grins, and if Killua’s smile widens as well, there’s no point trying to hide it when Gon can see his entire face now.

“I’ll get to give you the tour then. But I haven’t visited it either,” Gon says. He pats his bag. “I’ve got a map to where I need to go.” 

“We can explore it then,” Killua says as he waves off Gon’s map. 

Killua and Gon fall into step, and though he is still more confused by Gon than anything else, it doesn’t seem like Killua is making a mistake. His one hundredth kill can wait for a while.


End file.
